1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to baler devices and more specifically it relates to a baler plug removing system for unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab.
Hay balers, particularly round hay balers, are notorious for plugging up in the front pickup portion and the feed rollers. Depending upon weather and hay conditions, sometimes the hay will wrap around the feed rollers. Other times the hay will "build up" in the pickup portion of the baler without entering the feed rollers. Typically, the user must turn off the power take-off to the baler and get out of the tractor to manually remove the plugged hay. During undesirable weather conditions, this can be physically demanding upon the user because of the immediate climate changes. Many users of balers find it easier to leave the power take-off engaged when attempting to unplug the baler. This is extremely dangerous and often leads to the user either losing a limb or becoming completely drawn into the baler usually leading to death of the user. Hence, there is a need for a baler plug removing system that eliminates the need for the user to leave the comfort of the tractor cab and risk bodily injury.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Balers have been in use for years. Typically, the conventional round baler will have a plurality of belts rotating about a plurality of rollers, a pickup for receiving the hay row, and a pair of opposing counter-rotating feed rollers that feed the hay from the pickup between the belts thereby forming the round bale. Often times the hay will become plugged within the pickup or the feed rollers making it difficult for the user to continue baling. The user must stop baling and manually unplug the baler. This is not only time consuming but also physically demanding upon the user. In addition, many farm accidents occur when a user is attempting to unplug the baler while the baler is still in operation. There currently is no system that allows a user to unplug a conventional baler without leaving the tractor cab.
Examples of attempted baler unpluggers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,516,389 to Core; 4,444,098 to Soteropulos; 5,447,022 to Webb; 4,782,652 to White; 4,604,858 to Esau et al; 5,826,418 to Clostermeyer et al which are all illustrative of such prior art.
Core (U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,389) discloses a round hay-baling machine. Core teaches a pickup assembly, a wind guard assembly, a latch assembly, and a twine tie assembly that has an elongated cable at opposite ends of the twine tie and to the latch assembly. When the baler is plugged, the twine tie assembly is actuated to pull the cable thereby releasing the latch assembly to allow the wind guard assembly to pivot away from the pickup assembly.
Soteropulos (U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,098) discloses a cylindrical baler with selfcleaning gate. Soteropulos teaches a frame with a pair of opposing sidewalls, a plurality of side-by-side endless belts on rollers, and a bale discharge gate.
Webb (U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,022) discloses a crop cutting apparatus for a round baler. Webb teaches a crop severing device that extends into the expandable chamber to cut crop material on the surface of the cylindrical package as it is being formed.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab. There currently is no system for unplugging a baler without the user having to physically remove the hay from the pickup and feed rollers.
In these respects, the baler plug removing system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab.